dismissal
Americannoun
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an act or instance of dismissing.
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the state of being dismissed.
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a spoken or written order of discharge from employment, service, enrollment, etc.
noun
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an official notice of discharge from employment or service
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the act of dismissing or the condition of being dismissed
Other Word Forms
- nondismissal noun
- predismissal noun
- redismissal noun
Etymology
Origin of dismissal
Explanation
The act of sending someone away or firing them is dismissal. Your friend's dismissal from the pizza place where he kept dropping the dough on the floor means he's looking for a new job — preferably not in food service. When a school bell rings at the end of the day, signaling that students can leave, that's one kind of dismissal. Bad news from a boss that the company is laying you off is also a dismissal, and when a judge rules that a trial is over and the case has been dropped, it's yet another kind of dismissal. The word comes from dismiss, "send away," from the Latin root dimittere, "send different ways" or "break up."
Vocabulary lists containing dismissal
List 3
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List 6
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Legal Lingo, List 3
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The BBC said it was made aware in 2017 of the investigation, but that new information had come to light in recent weeks that led to the DJ's dismissal on 27 March.
From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026
In 2024, Prof Jo Phoenix won an unfair dismissal case against the Open University over a failure to defend her gender-critical views.
From BBC • Apr. 19, 2026
At the private Greene School in West Palm Beach, students have two teachers per class and continue with school activities until they are summoned to line up for dismissal in a precision-timed digital queue.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026
The dismissal played out before a half-full courtroom, with Mitchell’s mother flanked by organizers from Black Lives Matter L.A. and other police accountability activists.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2026
Once the dismissal bell rings, Sam and I do our usual stop at Mrs. Parker’s office for our candy fix before we head home.
From "Piecing Me Together" by Renée Watson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
